there's room for two
by thatssupersketch
Summary: Bellamy gets a call from Clarke at 1 am asking him to pick her up from a club after a disaster of a night. coffee at IHOP ensues. (based off of six feet under the stars by all time low)


"Bellamy?" her voice sounded estranged over the phone, but he could still hear the hollowness in her tone.

"Clarke?" he asked cautiously. "Are you okay? Why are you calling at—" he glanced at his watch. "1 in the morning?" His hands automatically reached for his car keys, even if she hadn't said anything about needing a ride. There wasn't any other logical reasoning to her calling him that late, or calling him at all, for that matter.

"Yeah, Bell…I just need a ride. Could you…could you come get me?" Clarke says slowly, and sounding the most raw and open that he had ever heard. Before, Clarke had always been rough and had sharp edges. She never sounded vulnerable, only certain and steady. If Bellamy could even count on someone to be levelheaded and keep their mouth shut, it was Clarke.

"Sure thing." He headed out the door, phone still pressed to his ear. He got in the car and was about to start it when he remembered he still had no idea where she was. "Clarke, where are you?"

"Downtown…" she said softly, then cleared her throat. "By, uh, the Ark. That new club?"

Bellamy found this rather odd, but decided not to press the issue right then, especially not while they were on the phone. "Hold on, princess, I'm on my way."

…

Fifteen minutes later, Bellamy pulled up to the Ark in the midst of the late night traffic. Despite the fact that the town wasn't huge, their downtown still had quite the nightlife. Especially since the Ark was new, it attracted a lot of attention, even from underage high school kids- such as Clarke. Clarke ran the inner circle because her mom was the chief of surgery at the local hospital, and they were good friends with the mayor's family. They all had connections, which made it easy enough for her to sneak into the bar.

But if Bellamy had learned anything from Octavia talking about Clarke, or when Clarke came over, it was that Clarke thought underage drinking and clubbing was abhorrent. She didn't know how to be 'fun.' He had no idea why she was here, but it must've been a fluke. Clarke Griffin didn't party.

Or maybe she did.

She slunk out of the glass doors, small purse in hand. He hadn't even seen her face yet, but the little tight black number she had on was doing wonders for her figure. Not that she needed it, of course. She was perfect no matter what she wore, Bellamy thought with a smile. One that happened to linger on his face when she made it to the car after wobbling fifteen feet on her sky high heels.

She slid with ease into his car. "What're you smiling at?" she asked carefully. She obviously expected him to be mad about having to come pick her up.

"Nothing," he said a little too quickly, and a heavy silence fell over the car. She was perfectly content with staring out the window into the darkness, it seemed, and it was easy to remember she was an artist at times like this. She found the beauty in everything, no matter how dumb it seemed to anyone else. It was cute.

Not that he would admit it out loud.

Bellamy cleared his throat and fiddled with the AC just to do something. The tension was still very high, and someone was being an ice princess. Not that he could blame her, though. She had been through a lot. A lot more than she liked to show, and a lot more than he gave her credit for. She was one of the strongest people he knew.

Which is why it was so weird seeing her so raw and open that night. Not that she couldn't be strong and open, it was just…different. And maybe a little welcoming, in a twisted sort of way. It always seemed as if he could never get through to her, but if he was the one she called tonight, maybe he made more of a difference to than he thought.

"Clarke?" he asked cautiously.

She sighed and turned towards him, streaks of mascara apparent on her face. "What, Blake?"

He hesitated. "Let's get some coffee."

Clarke squinted at him, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Right now?"

"Right now."

"…Okay," she acquiesced a lot easier than he thought she would, and before she had a chance to change her mind, they had pulled into an IHOP parking lot. The lighting was dim, but it was light at least, and it was more welcoming than the surrounding darkness that Bellamy could tell was itching to cast off.

As soon as they were seated, Clarke tried to hide her face in her menu, and she was constantly fiddling with something. When Bellamy couldn't take any more, he gently covered her hands with his, and she looked up at him. A ghost of a smile appeared, and nothing could have been more welcoming to Bellamy.

She sighed. "I suppose you would like to hear what happened…"

Bellamy pulled one hand back and stirred some sugar into his coffee. It was a bit difficult to tear open a sugar packet one handed, but he didn't want to let go of her hand (now, or ever).

"I would. Since, you know, I came to get you at one in the morning." She couldn't help but blush at that.

"I'm sorry," she began sheepishly. "I didn't know who else to trust." He was suddenly warm all over, and it definitely wasn't the coffee.

"Since Wells has been gone, we've been the closest, I think. Other than your sister, but she doesn't have a driver's license, so…"

"It's okay, I promise." _I'm here for you, _he silently added. _Always._

"So I've been…closed off since Wells is gone…he was my first real boyfriend, you know? And I trusted him with everything. I put so much trust and effort into that relationship and then he was just…gone." She rubbed her temples, as if she massaged them hard enough the painful memories would go away.

"So for whatever reason, tonight, I was feeling a little bit more open, and it was intoxicating, really. So I called up this guy who had been asking me out for a while, and we decided to meet at the Ark. I guess I legitimately thought we connected, or something, I don't know." Clarke sighed, eyes shifting downwards. "But in the middle of a dance, I get bombarded by this other girl. Really pretty, Latina. She's gorgeous."

Clarke groaned. "I don't even know what I was thinking, but then she informs me that I'm dancing with her boyfriend and I need to get out."

Bellamy's hand tightened around hers.

"Then she slapped me. And it was freaking humiliating." Her eyes flashed. "He didn't even say anything when she did that! Just whispered in my ear on the way out, "I'll call you later, okay?""

Clarke slumped down in her seat, and takes her coffee mug and takes a deep drink. "This needs alcohol," she grumbled, setting it not-so-gently back on the table.

Bellamy was at a loss for words. How could someone cheat on a girl like Clarke? It's Clarke, she's a princess_. His princess_, he thought.

"Hey princess?"

"Yeah?" she muttered.

"You don't deserve that. You deserve so much better."

She scoffed. "Yeah, what, like you?"

He hesitated, and ignored her question. "Hey, Clarke, I'll make you a deal."

"I'm listening."

"I'll take you out tomorrow night. I know I'm hardly worth your time, but you deserve to have some fun, and for some guy to treat you right for once," he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the sting that the rejection would cause.

"Sure," Clarke said, a twinkle in her eyes making its first appearance that night. He lets out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Will there be jaeger?"

"If it keeps you around, then I'm down."

"Thanks, Bell."

"Anytime, princess."


End file.
